Physics

Physics

Problem

Three identical point masses mm are fixed at the corners of an equilateral triangle of side length LL. A fourth mass mm is slowly brought from very far away to the centroid (geometric center) of the triangle. Neglect all other forces. Which of the following gives the magnitude of the work that must be done by an external agent to move the fourth mass to the centroid? a) 3Gm2L\dfrac{3 G m^{2}}{L} b) 3 Gm2/L\sqrt{3}\,G m^{2}/L c) 33 Gm2L\dfrac{3\sqrt{3}\,G m^{2}}{L} d) 23 Gm2/L2\sqrt{3}\,G m^{2}/L

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